Archive for September, 2012

One of the best things about the launch party for Left Coast Roast back in August was a cocktail that barman Kelley Swenson came up with: The Ginger Cup. He was kind enough to provide the recipe for it:

In a double rocks glass add the whiskey and coffee syrup. Stir. Add ice and fill with ginger beer. Top with a splash of soda!

Coffee Syrup

Pick a robust and “coffee-like” single origin coffee or blend that can stand up to sugar. A coffee that’s good in milk should be good in this cocktail [in other words, probably aim for a blend, or a single origin coffee from Latin America; steer away from African coffees or those that list more delicate fruit flavors in the tasting notes. -HN] Brew according to your preferred method. Combine 1 part hot coffee to 1 part granulated sugar and stir until disolved. Bottle and refrigerate.

Just out from Eater PDX is a guide to Portland’s 20 best coffeehouses, compiled by Sprudge.com editor and man-about-town Jordan Michelman. Lots of left coast roasters on the list, including Stumptown, Boyds, Clive, Courier, Coava, Cellar Door, Extracto, Heart, Public Domain, Ristretto, Sterling, and Water Avenue. Phew. But also on the list are plenty of top-notch cafes that you won’t find in the book because they don’t roast their own. Perhaps most notable is the new microcafe Maglia Rosa, located inside West End Bikes downtown. The cafe is run by veteran barista and former U.S. Barista Champion Phuong Tran, who (according to the cafe’s Twitter feed), is “going to be sucker punching people with killer coffee and showing young pups old tricks.” We believe it.